Saturday, 25 April 2009

Forced marriage?

"A forced marriage is a marriage conducted without the full consent of both parties and where duress (emotional pressure in addition to physical abuse) is a factor. It is an entirely separate issue from arranged marriage, and the two should not be confused. In an arranged or assisted marriage, the families take a role in choosing and introducing the marriage partners, but the marriage is entered into freely by both people, without duress being a factor. In a forced marriage, this consent does not exist."

Consent. Now that's an interesting concept. That would be the consent that you need to give as a young person aged over twelve to your personal details appearing on a database open to an estimated 300,000 civil servants, would it? Er, actually, to answer my own question, you cannot opt out of ContactPoint so you don't have a right to give consent either.

Consent. That would be the consent that you have to give when you go to school, is it? No, actually. Consent implies that you have a choice available to refuse to attend, but that you choose to go. But, if you decide not to go to school, the police will come and arrest your mother (I wonder why they never arrest your father?) and send her to prison. Of course, politicians believe that children learn best at school, don't they? They have no proof or anything. They just believe that. We home educators know better of course.

Emotional duress seems to me to go hand in hand with force and LACK of consent.

So did you give your consent to paying off debts run up by the government, young folk? Were you even asked for your opinion? Of course not. Yet you'll be the ones to face the sky-high taxation for many years to come.

Consent. It's a pretty concept seldom seen in practice. Another one of the government's buzzwords methinks.

About Me

Home educating (I think you guessed that), proud mother, freelance writer waiting to be adopted by a rich publisher, family history buff, avid and opportunist reader, non-swimmer, glasses wearer, shy and retiring (or I used to be), lover of justice (no, justice is not a toyboy), admirer of the internet, and intellectually enquiring.